by G. S. Dutt
Savitri whispered, ‘Something terrible has happened.’
‘What?’ Nikki asked anxiously.
Savitri said, ‘About an hour back two men came in a red car. When I opened the door they pushed me aside and asked me, “Where is your Madam?” I told them she was in the bedroom. Before I could do anything they barged into her room. One of them covered her face with a cloth. The other man tied her hands behind her back and they dragged her to their car and sped away. I immediately telephoned Sahib. He and Mr Khanna have just arrived five minutes ago.’
‘Where are they?’
‘In the study.’
Outside the study, Nikki heard a recorded message being played on an audio player. She stood outside the door and heard the tape being played over and over again. She heard a man’s rough voice saying,
‘Taneja, despite so many warnings you have not paid the money. To tell you what we are capable of, we have kidnapped your wife. This is your last chance. If you want her back alive, pay 20 crores within five days from today. If you try to act smart and go to the police, you will get a parcel containing your wife’s head. Remember—five days from today. One more thing—we are not going to contact you on the phone because phones are tapped. You record your confirmation on this very tape and put it in the letter box at the Central Park by tomorrow evening. You will receive the delivery instructions from us in a few days. Remember, don’t try to act smart.’
Nikki heard the tape being taken out of the player and Mr Taneja’s voice, ‘Khanna, I had told you that these people belonged to a mafia. You stopped me from going to the police saying that we should not be bothered by hoax calls. Now things are totally out of control.’ Mr Khanna was quiet.
‘Tell me how we can possibly arrange 20 crores in five days?’
Mr Khanna said, ‘Yes it is tough. At best we could mop up one or two crores cash from banks, but not twenty.’
‘Then what do we do?’ Nikki heard the anguished voice of Mr Taneja.
Mr Khanna said, ‘There is only one way now.’
‘Yes, what is that?’
‘The only way to gather so much of cash at such short notice is to sell a part of the company in the share market.’ ‘You know the implications?’ asked Mr Taneja, and added, ‘The market will crash if we put the company on sale. We may have to sell a major part of the company to get money for the ransom. I may lose control over the company.’
Mr Khanna said, ‘It may not happen like that. I know some people in the share market. I will tell them to watch our interest.’
Not satisfied with Mr Khanna’s argument Mr Taneja asked, ‘Should we notify the police asking them to investigate discreetly?’ ‘No, the risk is far too great now. These gangs are ruthless. If they get even an inkling that we have approached the police they will kill Mrs Taneja.’
‘I am at my wits’ end,’ Nikki heard Mr Taneja’s troubled and weary tone. ‘OK, you contact some brokers to find out whether there will be buyers for our company.’
‘I will go to office right now and contact a few leading brokers.’
‘Let me also come with you. What will I do sitting here?’
Nikki quietly tiptoed away. After a while she heard the two cars leaving the house.
Nikki called Savitri and asked, ‘These two men who took Aunty away, what did they look like?’
Savitri said, ‘I could not see them properly because they were wearing face masks. But they were tall and well built. The man who spoke to me had a rough and heavy voice.’
‘Anything else?’
‘Yes,’ said Savitri, ‘One of them had big bulging eyes, which could be seen even through the mask. He also appeared to be bald.’
Nikki went to her room. Her first impulse was to inform Inspector Rajan about the incident. She picked up the phone but checked herself. It was too risky. Once he comes to know, he will immediately alert all the police stations in Somabad and if the mafia gets to know about it they will think that Mr Taneja has notified the police and the poor lady might lose her life. After thinking for a while she dialled Seema’s number, ‘Hi Seema, Nikki here.’ Seema said in a subdued voice, ‘Yes, hello, Nikki.’
Nikki said, ‘You heard about Sheila Aunty.’
‘Yes, Dad called up Mom a short while ago. We are all terrified.’
‘Anurag Uncle has gone back to office. I feel a bit uneasy staying alone in the house. I was wondering whether I could come over and stay with you.’
Seema replied, ‘Of course! Tina and I will come to pick you up in an hour’s time.’
When Seema and Tina came to pick her up, Nikki informed Savitri, ‘Please tell Uncle that I am going to spend a few days in Mr Khanna’s house with Seema and Tina.’
Near the Khannas’ house, Nikki saw a big park. ‘That’s Central Park,’ Tina pointed out.
The car stopped shortly afterwards in front of a house. ‘Here we are,’ said Seema.
Nikki noticed that the boundary wall of the Central Park faced the Khannas’ house. In fact, one of the gates of the park opened a short distance away from their house. Seema saw Nikki looking at the park and said, ‘This place becomes very lively in the evenings. On holidays, practically the whole city comes here and it is difficult even to walk.’
Nikki said, ‘It is a great advantage to have such a lovely park near your house. I am also fond of walking. I think I will like it here.’
The Khannas’ house was much smaller than the Taneja Mansion. It was a single storey house with three bedrooms and a car porch. The sisters, who had separate rooms to themselves, gave up one room for Nikki. Nikki met Mrs Khanna who was still in a state of shock over the kidnapping.
The girls were quite pleasant. Most of the time they were talking about Jyoti. They showed her all their books and video games. It was quite clear to Nikki that they were doing all they could to make her feel at home.
On the afternoon of the next day the girls were discussing something in hushed voices and appeared somewhat upset. Nikki asked, ‘Is anything wrong?’ Seema said hesitatingly, ‘No, nothing’s wrong. We had bought tickets for a movie for this evening. We didn’t know that you were coming. Otherwise, we would have bought a ticket for you too and now they’re all sold out.’
Nikki laughed and said. ‘That’s no problem. Please don’t worry about me. I’m used to staying alone. I’ll go to the park in the evening and if you give me a good book to read, I’ll be fine.’
‘Thank you. You are really nice,’ said a grateful Tina.
In a way, Nikki was relieved. She was now free to find out who would come in the evening to collect the cassette from the letter box in the park, which was the real purpose of her coming to this place.
— CHAPTER FIFTEEN —
Caught in the Web
At 5:30 that evening, Tina and Seema left for the movie. Nikki put on her walking shoes and went to the park. She found that the letter box was at the far end of the park close to the main road. She chose a stone bench near the hedge close to the letter box. From this place, she could watch the letter box without being seen from the road. After about half an hour, she saw the ‘big black car’ approaching. The car stopped by the road side a little away from the letter box. Mr Khanna came out of the car, crossed the road and casually walked to the letter box. He took out a white envelope from his pocket, looked around and put it in the letter box. He quickly moved away and got back into the car which went ahead and entered the gate of his house.
Now the real vigil began. Nikki was pretending to read a book which Seema had lent her. But it was getting dark. Although lights had been switched on, it
would still look odd to be seen reading a book in the park lights. Gradually, the park was getting empty. Only a few people were left who were walking on the stone path which ran all around the park. Nikki got up and started walking, keeping her eyes all the time on the letter box. There was no light near the letter box and a tree close to it had spread its branches above it making it difficult to see the area. Only half a
dozen people were now left in the park. Nikki was becoming anxious. Obviously, she could not stay there much longer. Suddenly, she saw someone coming on a bicycle towards the letter box. The man parked the bicycle nearby. He removed a cloth bag from the cycle, opened the lock of the letter box and transferred its contents to the bag. Nikki drifted closer. She could only see the man’s back. He was wearing the uniform of a postman. He soon picked up the bag and placed it on his cycle. Nikki was very keen to see his face. She moved quickly towards the letter box. The man climbed the bicycle and took the road going in the opposite direction from the Khannas’ house. Nikki started running after him. It was dark and the road was deserted. Near a lamp post, the man turned his face and looked to see who was following him. Their eyes met. There was no one on the road except the two of them. Nikki noticed his bald pate shining in the light.
The man had reached close to the end of the road where it merged with the main road. Nikki had slowed down and was about twenty feet behind him. The man got off the cycle. He got hold of the mail bag and threw the cycle in the hedge. Then with lightning speed he rushed to Nikki and caught her by the arm. He took out a gun and placed it menacingly close to her body. He said, ‘Keep walking with me. If you try to get away, I will shoot you.’
They both walked a few paces and reached the main road. Nikki saw a red car standing close to the turning. The man opened the back door and pushed her in, and then got in after her. As he was getting in, Nikki saw his face in the car light. He was not completely bald as the sketch shown to her by Inspector Rajan. He had short hair above his ears and around his neck. He also had no moustache and no sign of any cut on his face as in the sketch. So he is not the man who went to Sangalina Hills. The man shut the rear door and said, ‘Let’s move.’ The man who was driving asked, ‘John, who is this girl with you?’
John replied, ‘She was following me. I had earlier seen her coming out of Taneja’s house. She has also seen my face. It will be dangerous to leave her loose.’ John turned his face towards Nikki and asked, ‘You girl, what were you doing on the streets at this time of the evening and why were you running after me?’
Nikki tried to defend herself, ‘I was not running after you. I had come to stay in the house of my friends. I was just jogging. You can see I am wearing sneakers.’
The driver shook his head. ‘John, she seems too smart.
You’d better blindfold her. We should consult the boss about her.’ John took out a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it over Nikki’s eyes and pushed her down until she was reclined on the seat.
The car was moving at high speed. After driving for about an hour, the car came to a halt. The man untied the handkerchief and said, ‘Get out of the car.’ It was dark outside. The car had stopped in front of a house. The driver got hold of Nikki’s arm. The bald man who was carrying the postal bag rang the bell. Someone looked through the peep hole and opened the door. The house was dimly lit. The man who opened the door said, ‘Come in. The boss is waiting for you, John.’ Then he looked at Nikki and said, ‘Who is this girl with Albert?’
‘I saw her following me. I had seen her earlier coming out of Taneja’s house. I didn’t want to take a chance and brought her along.’
The man said, ‘Albert, take her upstairs. Keep her in a separate room.’
Albert gave Nikki a push towards the door.
The door opened into a corridor. They entered a hall. Nikki saw a round table in the hall around which three or four ferocious looking men were seated. John and the man who had opened the door went ahead to another room. The stairs going upstairs were at the far end of the hall. Nikki and Albert had to pass by the side of the table to go to the staircase. A ruffian asked Albert, ‘Who is this bird?’
‘One more guest,’ Albert responded.
‘Good. The more the merrier.’ Another man sitting beside him laughed and said, ‘Yes, more guests, more money.’
Nikki and Albert climbed two floors and entered another corridor. A bunch of keys was hanging on a peg on the wall of the corridor. Albert took the keys and opened a door. It was a well-furnished bedroom with a television, a telephone and an attached bathroom. Albert said, ‘This is where you will stay. Isn’t it rather nice?
I will get you your dinner after some time.’
Nikki who was rather surprised at this politeness, asked, ‘How long are you going to keep me here?’
Albert replied, ‘I guess another four, five days. After which, either you will be set free, or you will die along with that Taneja woman.’
Nikki asked, ‘Is Mrs Taneja also in this house?’
‘You are very inquisitive. That is how you have landed yourself here.’ He went out locking the door from outside. Nikki lifted the telephone. It was dead. The television, however, was working. Quite surprisingly, she did not feel scared. She knew that she was not important to them. They suspected that she was following John and brought her here just to eliminate any risk.
After some time, the door opened. Albert came in holding a tray. He kept the tray on the table and returned without saying a word. As soon as he was out, he locked the door from outside.
Nikki finished her food and switched on the television, and turned on the local news channel. She heard the full bulletin. There was no mention about the kidnapping. Mr Taneja had obviously followed the advice of Mr Khanna and not contacted the police. The next day the same routine was followed. Albert would open the door, place the food tray on the table, pick up the old tray and go out without speaking a word.
When Nikki looked out of the window, she could see a lot of greenery. The place appeared to be a guest house in an out-of-the-way resort. The food also looked as if bought from a restaurant and came in disposable cartons along with bottled water and canned juices. This solitary confinement was getting on her nerves. She had never felt so bored and useless. Moreover, she could only imagine how worried the Khannas and Mr Taneja must be! On the third day, she shouted at Albert, ‘Why are you keeping me here! I want to speak to your boss!’
Albert pretended to have heard nothing. He quietly closed the door and went away. Nikki made sure to shout at Albert every time he came to deliver the food. On the fourth day, when Albert brought her breakfast, Nikki said in an agonised tone, ‘Mr Albert please appreciate my position. I am a student. I should have gone back to my school. I have not committed any crime. Why don’t you allow me to leave?’
Albert remained oblivious. At midday, however, the door opened and he came in. He locked the door from inside. Nikki was surprised. It was not lunch time. He said, ‘Look Miss, I know that you are innocent. But I have my orders. I cannot let you go. You should understand my position. It is only a matter of one more day.’
‘How can you be sure that it is a matter of only one day?’ Nikki retorted.
Albert said, ‘Today the boss and the others have gone to get the money. As soon as they get it they will let you go. If everything is all right, you could perhaps go back to school tomorrow morning.’ Nikki kept quiet.
The next day, Nikki was still sleeping when Albert woke her up. It was still dark, she realised when she looked out the window.
‘What is the matter? Why have you woken me up so early?’
Albert sounded cheerful, ‘Everything is fine now. Time for you to go. I have brought some tea and biscuits for you. Get ready and come down. I will drop you somewhere in the city.’
He went out. This time the door was left open. Nikki quickly got ready and went downstairs. Besides Albert, John was also in the hall. Both of them looked quite relaxed.
‘I hope, Miss, you did not have any problem here.’
Nikki spat back, ‘The biggest problem was sitting all the time in the room doing nothing. I wonder what you gained by bringing me and confining me to this place!’
John laughed at her spunk and said, ‘We have gained quite a lot, actually! Now, come, we will drop you in the city.’ As the day dawned, they reached the outskirts of the city. John stopped the car on a lonel
y stretch of road and said, ‘Now get out.’ Nikki got out of the car which immediately sped away.
— CHAPTER SIXTEEN —
Change of Priorities
Nikki rushed to Taneja Mansion in a taxi and reached there in half an hour. As soon as she entered, she saw Mrs Taneja sitting in the living room with her husband. On seeing Nikki he got up and asked, ‘What happened to you? Savitri said that you had gone to Khanna’s house. But Khanna told me that you just vanished the next evening leaving all your things in their house. Where were you? We were so worried! I wanted to call the police, but then I was worried the kidnappers would think I was calling to report them...’ Mr Taneja looked haggard. He probably hadn’t slept in days.
Nikki said, ‘I was walking on the road in front of Mr Khanna’s house when someone got hold of me and rushed me away in a red car. I think he was one of the men who had kidnapped Aunty. He said he had seen me coming out of this house.’
Mr Taneja kept quiet with his head in his hands. Mrs Taneja who still looked shaken, got up and hugged Nikki, ‘I am sorry, my child. You also got entangled in this mess.’
Mr Taneja asked, ‘Where did they take you?’
Nikki said, ‘It was a kind of private guest house in a lonely resort about an hour’s drive from the city.’ She turned to Mrs Taneja and asked, ‘How are you, Aunty? I was very worried about you. I hope they did not ill treat you.’
‘I have gone through hell. First, we lost Jyoti and now this horrifying experience. I had lost all hope. I thought they were the same men who murdered Jyoti and their purpose in taking me away was to kill me. But they turned out to be mafia thugs who were after money,’ Mrs Taneja said.
Mr Taneja clearly did not want this line of conversation to proceed. He said to Nikki, ‘You must be tired. Please go up to your room and take some rest. Your Aunty would also like to rest now.’